Resource Type

Oral History Interview with Albert Barton, November 6, 2010 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Barton, November 6, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Barton. Barton joined the Navy and was trained as a radioman. He became a crewman on an Avenger torpedo bomber in October 1943. Barton flew off of the USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) and the USS Tripoli (CVE-64) and performed anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic. He describes how depth charges were dropped, the armament of the plane, and how they were trained to skip-bomb. Barton was then sent to the Pacific where he flew off of the USS Anzio (CVE-57) for the remainder of the war. He describes an incident where his plane had a failed landing and ended upside-down in the water. Barton had to break some glass in the cockpit to escape. He flew ground support missions over Okinawa. Barton discusses how the radio and radar functioned on his plane. He was discharged several months after the surrender.
Date: November 6, 2010
Creator: Barton, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Barton, November 6, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Barton, November 6, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Barton. Barton joined the Navy and was trained as a radioman. He became a crewman on an Avenger torpedo bomber in October 1943. Barton flew off of the USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) and the USS Tripoli (CVE-64) and performed anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic. He describes how depth charges were dropped, the armament of the plane, and how they were trained to skip-bomb. Barton was then sent to the Pacific where he flew off of the USS Anzio (CVE-57) for the remainder of the war. He describes an incident where his plane had a failed landing and ended upside-down in the water. Barton had to break some glass in the cockpit to escape. He flew ground support missions over Okinawa. Barton discusses how the radio and radar functioned on his plane. He was discharged several months after the surrender.
Date: November 6, 2010
Creator: Barton, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009 transcript

Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.
Date: March 31, 2009
Creator: Solis, John G.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Finley. Finley joined the Marine Corps around December of 1943. He provides vivid details of his boot camp experiences. He served with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, as a radar mechanic on Corsairs, repairing radio and radar gear. Beginning in September of 1944 they traveled to Guam, Kwajalein, Pearl Harbor and Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Finley shares a number of anecdotal stories, including working with POWs. He was discharged in the fall of 1946.
Date: April 11, 2006
Creator: Finley, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History